


In a Hopeless Place

by ParanoidRobonoid



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Again don’t read this if you’re not into dark concepts, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Artificial Insemination, Basically Lapis and Peridot are used for science, Breeding, Dark, Dubious Consent, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, I will not apologize if you can’t read tags, Limb Enhancer Peridot, Miss Cold and Calculated turns Miss Sappy and Attached, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Seriously don’t read if easily upset, Stepping out of Comfort Zone, Tagging as I go, There is consent but it’s a fucked up situation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:28:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28168491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ParanoidRobonoid/pseuds/ParanoidRobonoid
Summary: The Crystal Gems are defeated when Peridot’s ship lands on earth but escaped capture. Gems are continuing to lose value and worth in their jobs as resources disappear on Homeworld. In desperation for extra forces, Yellow Diamond pulls Peridot back with a special assignment for her and the high-quality Lapis she has been tasked with.
Relationships: Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25





	1. Warning

Warning: This work will contain dark elements such as dubious consent (dub-con), forced breeding, artificial insemination, and psychological abuse. This is not a lighthearted fic. If you are sensitive, please back out now. For those brave enough, there are happier chapters ahead!  
Rest assured: There is NO non-con. Only unfortunate, terrible circumstances.

Disclaimer: I do not condone the actions in this fanfiction. This is a work of fiction aimed at those that like darker themes to get out of my comfort zone and does not reflect my views or values. Aside from the happy fluff and gayness that comes later. Those are nice. 

You’ve been warned. Now enjoy the show.

Main theme: Fire on Fire by Sam Smith


	2. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to probably the darkest story I’ll ever write. But don’t worry. Despite the angst and trauma and everything else, there will be some fluff and gay space rocks sprinkled in. 
> 
> This will be a “short story,” which for me means chapters likely won’t exceed 5k each, and they won’t be as detailed as (NS)HA. This is a side story I’ll be working on as a break from that fic.
> 
> Special thanks to a certain friend who helped me flesh this thing out and gave me wonderful ideas <3 they know who they are
> 
> Art is mine

  
“With all due respect, my Diamond… are you insane?!” Diamond-shaped pupils dilated as yellow eyes pinned down the engineer. “You can’t be ser-”

“I gave you a direct order, 5XG. I am serious, and I expect you to see your duties through to the end.”

“But - that’s - this is-“

“You’re stuttering. Perhaps you need to be rejuvenated and reconditioned. I can’t have a defective peridot piloting a ship and leading missions.”

“No. It’s that - I don’t understand, my Diamond. Gems have not reproduced sexually since the very beginning. And reproduction was between two individuals of the same gem group that had formed an attachment to one another. Lapis Lazuli and I hardly know each other, I have my work, she’s only just been released from a mirror and was set to be rehabilitated once we arrived back on Homeworld, we probably don’t even have the right-“

“All of your existing missions are to be disregarded. This is your priority now, 5XG. If you and 4LR refuse to cooperate, you will both be harvested and the energy in your gems made useful through other means. Are we clear?!”

Peridot opened her mouth to argue, to talk some sense into her superior, but her and Lapis’s very lives were on the line. They had to go through with this. As ridiculous and unfair and cruel as this assignment was, it was an assignment. A Diamond-given assignment at that. She closed her mouth, lowering her head in submissive agreement. “Yes, my Diamond. If I may ask, why us?”

The wise leader seemed satiated on the other end of the Diamond Line, letting out a heavy huff and returning her stare to the screens around her. “This Lapis Lazuli was considered the ultimate specimen of her stone. She has the cleanest cut, the highest quality gem, and is much more powerful than the rest of the Era 1s. In her short time under our command, she demonstrated tremendous strength, and losing track of her was a significant loss during the rebellion. You’re aware of our limited resources, you should know it is of utmost importance we utilize what we can to obtain more quality gems.”

The technician swallowed. She knew the gem she’d been tasked with was valuable, but.. “And me?”

“For an Era 2, your gem is… impressive. Clean facets, no traces of other minerals that would render you impure, and your work ethic could be passed onto your offspring. We need more reliable, dedicated gems in our forces.”

“Wouldn’t the gems produced by two different stones be impure?”

“No more than a majority of gems. I care more about their usefulness and abilities, this is no time to be picky with the discovery of remaining Crystal Gems. Now, you’ve wasted enough of my time with your incessant questions. Officers will be boarding your ship shortly to ensure you comply with your orders. I expect you to act promptly.”

—

The metallic clanking of her footsteps was all Peridot could register as she made her way to the lapis’s cell. Two amethyst soldiers had been assigned to follow her and make sure she brought the blue gem to the designated breeding chamber - a spare room on Peridot’s ship that had been cleaned out and repurposed - and help if Lapis put up a fight. She ignored their presence, swallowing thickly at the knowledge of what was expected of her. Of what was at stake if she didn’t follow through. This wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair. She and Lapis didn’t know each other. They had their own lives. Their own interests. She was content doing her work and not being around or touched by others. She hated lowering her guard and allowing others into her personal space. And she knew Lapis would have even greater issues with it. She’d endured thousands of years of torture, of being treated as an object, of being used. She should be allowed to go home and recover. But instead, they’d both be forced to completely throw away their concept of comfort. Of control over their situation. They’d be forced to allow each other to touch them in extremely personal and intimate ways and see them at their worst. They’d be permanently bound to each other through the creation of offspring. They’d have a helpless, blind, tiny gem - perhaps even a litter of the tiny things, Peridot wasn’t well-educated on how many a lapis could produce at once - they’d have to watch over and take care of for years. Farewell, privacy. Farewell, wonderful productive silence. Farewell, freedom to think about what she needed to do and organize her thoughts.

Approaching the small containment unit, Peridot’s expressionless face slightly faltered as a frown tugged the corner of her mouth. Lapis was curled up on herself on the floor of the green cell, facing away from the electric barrier that kept her contained, one arm moved over her eyes presumably to block out the light. Was she… Sleeping? Why? Gems didn’t need sleep. 

Deeming it irrelevant at the moment, Peridot pressed her hand to the control pad on the side. The sound alerted the water gem, Lapis flinching and sitting up in a split second, moving to face the now-dissipating wall and therefore hiding the gem on her back. Blue eyes locked onto Peridot’s, wide and glistening and questioning - nearly pleading for mercy, as her eyebrows curved. 

“Lazuli.”

“What’s going on? Are we back on-”

“No.” Stepping over the crack in the floor the destabilizing energy flowed into, she stood over the clearly fearful gem. The pure agony and fright in her deep blue pools pained Peridot, but showing any sort of empathy, any sort of compassion would only cause problems. They weren’t given this assignment to be friends. They purely had to create a child and tolerate each other’s presence enough to do so. Once it was over, they’d be able to go back to their own lives and never look back. “Yellow Diamond has a special assignment for us.”

“Us?”

Peridot turned to the Quartz soldiers watching them. “Care to give us some privacy?”

The darker amethyst with her gem on her right bicep responded. “Yellow Diamond ordered us to keep a close eye on you two and report if you re-“

“Refuse to fulfill the mission, yeah yeah. I’m simply going to inform Lapis of what is expected of us. Walk a lap around the halls and return and we’ll be ready.”

The purple gems glanced at each other, turned back to Peridot, and began walking away but not without throwing skeptical stares her way. Once they were out of earshot, the pilot sighed heavily. 

“Listen, Lazuli. You’re not going to like this, I don’t like it, but if we don’t do this, we’ll be harvested. And I’m sure you don’t want to experience that again.” Meeting her eyes again, there was no denying the confusion and apprehension shimmering in them. “Resources are dwindling on Homeworld. They can’t make gems like they used to. The quality of Era 2 gems has been getting progressively worse - more often than not the new gems emerge without any powers or willingness to follow orders, and the ones that are willing aren’t physically capable.”

“What does that have to do with us?”

Peridot breathed heavily out of her nose. She had been stalling, she knew that, and now she had to deliver the bad news. “A gem of your caliber is highly desirable, and to a lesser extent, mine as well.”

“And?”

“They want us to…” She closed her eyes and gulped. “We have to copulate and produce a gem they can use.”

“...What?”

“We have to-“

“No, I heard you. I would rather die. Just shatter me now.” The blue gem, without rising off the floor even an inch, spun around so her gem was exposed to Peridot, glistening in the fluorescent lights. Pristine, smooth, perfect. “Do it now. They can’t make you breed with me if I don’t exist. Shatter me, Peridot. I’m not doing this.”

“You don’t have a choice.”

“I’d destroy myself if I could.”

“You think I want this? I would love nothing more than to drop you off on Homeworld so you can re-settle and leave to do the work I’ve been doing for thousands of years.” Her tone was coming off harsher than she intended, but this gem giving her trouble certainly did not make her any more happy about the situation. “Once the gem or gems are born and past their helpless stage - stars, kindergarten-produced gems are so much better - we can part ways and never look at each other again. Yellow Diamond is desperate for quality servants, and from my understanding, she’s using us more to see if it’s still possible for gems to reproduce and find out the efficiency of raising a gem.” Lapis still refused to look at her. She couldn’t blame her. This mission was violating her in every possible way, and of course Peridot would be the bad person for telling her she had to go through with this. She sighed. “Lazuli, I am not doing this by choice. We have to do this if we want any chance at returning to our normal lives.” Nevermind that Peridot was loyal to her Diamond and, even if she found it wrong, would follow her commands devotedly. 

“...is it even possible? Do we have the right, um…”

“I had the same concern. Before coming here, I was assured we had opposite genitalia.”

Lapis noticeably cringed at the word. “Gross…”

“No kidding.”

“How do they know? No one’s ever seen me-“

“It’s in the database for every gem ever produced. Something in the makeup of our individual stones determines which we’ll have.”

“Ah…”

Peridot knelt down behind the cerulean gem. “Lazuli, look at me.” A heavy exhale but she complied, turning her body around. Lifting her arm, Peridot cupped the cyan gem’s cheek as well as she could with the fingers of her limb enhancer. “I’ll make this as painless and fast as possible. I know this is cruel and unnatural and disgusting, but it’ll be over before you know it.”

“It’ll never be over, don’t you get it?! This isn’t some mission we can come home from and forget happened. We’re being forced to have a _child_ , Peridot! No matter what, nothing will ever go back to normal…” Her usually smooth voice quivered as a tear built up in her eye, and the terraformer tilted her head down as her lips pulled downward. 

Peridot gulped. “I’m sor-”

“Alright, time’s up. Let’s go.”

Lapis’s head jerked to look up at the amethyst soldiers and then Peridot, eyes wet and glistening with tears in a final desperate plea for her to find a way to stop this, to have mercy… but it was out of the kindergartener’s hands. The terror and pain in her eyes was too much for her to take, and all she could do was close her own to block out the sight as she pulled herself to her feet. “No time to waste.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let’s get this thing started, shall we?
> 
> Reminder: There will be no non-con, that’s something I will never ever write, but the situation is horrible.


End file.
